Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ELECTRONIC SALES SYSTEM
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is related to an electronic sales system for remotely
selling and distributing products and/or services.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The presence of unattended automatic points of sale are becoming
increasingly more common. Through these automatic points of sale a wide
variety of products can be purchased, such as movies tickets and concession
items, gas, etc. The use of an automatic point of sale allows the user to pay
for a product and/or service at a different location, and possibly time, than
that
at which the product and/or service is redeemed or used. This provides the
customer with the advantage of one-stop shopping in that a variety of
products to be purchased may be paid for at a single location. Further, these
products can be picked up at a separate physical location such that either the
purchase or pick up location may be more convenient for the customer.
For unattended distribution sites the physical separation of the sales site
from
the distribution site can enhance security. If there is not a sales site at
the
distribution site then there is also no cash, debit or credit card information
stored at that site since this information is used only at the sales site
where a
ticket redeemable for a product can be purchased. This enhances the
security of the unattended distribution site by removing incentive for
robbery.
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However, the physical separation of the sales and distribution sites creates
the need for a secure, anonymous method of retrieving the purchased
products or services.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic sales system
wherein the purchase point and the pick-up point of a product or service can
be in separate physical locations.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic sales
system that provides an anonymous means for product or service retrieval.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an
automated electronic sales system for selling purchase identifiers
representative of a purchased product or service and remotely distributing the
purchased product or service using a purchase identifier to co-ordinate sales
and distribution, said electronic sales system comprising: a database for
storing existing purchase identifiers associated with each product and service
sold though the electronic sales system and for creating new purchase
identifiers; a plurality of purchase points in communication with the database
for purchasing products and services, each of said plurality of purchase
points
comprising: a purchase data storage containing valid purchase identifiers
received from the database that can be sold as representatives of products
and services; ticket issuing means for issuing a ticket containing a valid
purchase identifier from the purchase data storage; and payment acceptance
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means for accepting payment for the purchase identifier; and a plurality of
distribution points in communication with the database for distributing
purchased products and services, each of said plurality of distribution points
comprising: a distribution data storage containing valid purchase identifier
information received from the database that can be redeemed for products
and services; ticket validation means for determining if a purchase identifier
on a ticket being redeemed is valid by searching the distribution data storage
base to determine if the purchase identifier exists and if the purchase
identifier
has been previously redeemed; and product distribution activation means for
providing the purchased product or service when the ticket being redeemed is
determined to be valid; and wherein at least one of the plurality of purchase
points and at least one of the plurality of sales points are at separate
remote
locations.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a
method of conducting a purchase transaction in a remote unattended
automated electronic sales system having separately located purchase points
and distribution points, wherein a purchase identifier representative of a
purchased product or service is used to co-ordinate sales and distribution:
storing a list of valid sellable purchase identifiers in each purchase point
in the
electronic sales system; storing a list of ail valid purchase identifiers at
all
distribution points in the electronic sales system; receiving product
selection
and payment information; issuing a ticket containing a purchase identifier,
wherein the ticket can be redeemed at a distribution point; validating the
ticket
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to be redeemed; and activating a distribution mechanism in response to the
valid ticket.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a diagram of an electronic sales system according to the present
invention;
Figure 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary transaction from the customer
perspective according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 3 is a flow diagram of the creation of codes for tickets according to
an
embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 4 is a flow diagram of a general transaction according to an
embodiment of the present invention; and
Figure 5 is a flow diagram of a ticket redemption transaction according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Figure 1 shows an electronic sales system 10 according to an embodiment of
the present invention.. Three separate physical locations 12, 14 and 16 are
depicted for the purposes of illustration. Operation of the electronic sales
system 10 requires one database, one remote station and one local station
although any multiple number of these nodes in various combinations are
possible.
Remote point of sale stations (RPOSS) 18, 24 are exclusively sales stations.
RPOSS 24 is at a location 14 that does not have the product or service being
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sold. This allows a product to be sold at a location where it might not be
possible to store the products or services being sold. Locating the RPOSS 24
away from the product distribution location 12 also allows businesses with
different focuses to sell each other's products. This enables a business to
5 offer their customers a more "full service" shopping experience without
requiring the business to directly become involved in a new branch of
products or services. Alternatively, the RPOSS 18 can be in the same vicinity
12 as a local point of sale station (LPOSS) 22.
With the sales station, RPOSS 18, 24 and the distribution station, LPOSS 22,
26, in separate physical locations it is necessary to provide the customer
with
some means of collecting the purchased product or service when it is
convenient to do so. The RPOSS 18, 24 sells and dispenses tickets
representative of products and/or services that can be redeemed at separate
physical locations 12, 16 that store the purchased product or service.
Each ticket sold at the RPOSS 18, 24 has a unique, randomly generated code
on the ticket. This random code makes it difficult to produce counterfeit
tickets as the codes on the tickets are specific to each transaction and are
randomly generated. Further, as the code on the ticket is random there is no
way to determine the product or service that the ticket represents without
redeeming the ticket at a proper LPOSS 22, 26.
Each RPOSS 18, 24 has a data storage 28, 30, a payment acceptor 36, 38,
and a ticket issuer 32, 34. The data storage 28, 30 stores a list of valid
codes
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that can be used to sell products. Associated with each valid code is a sale
date, expiry date and redemption date. These dates are changed once the
code is sold. The payment acceptor 36, 38 accepts payment for the purchase
of a product or service which will be represented on a ticket by a valid code.
The payment can be via credit card, debit card, IC card, etc.
The ticket issuer 32, 34 in the RPOSS 18, 24 has a searcher 40, 44 and a
printer 42, 46. The searcher 40, 44 searches in the data storage 28, 30 for an
unsold valid code that can be sold for the current transaction. The printer
42,
46 prints the unsold valid code on a ticket which is sold to a customer in
place
of a product for later redemption for the desired purchased product.
A database 20 contains a complete list of all tickets that have been created,
both sold and unsold. A single RPOSS 18, 24 may be connected to one or
more databases. Each database 20 is associated with a selection of products
and services available from one merchant. If an RPOSS 18, 24 has access to
more than one database of products then the RPOSS 18, 24 can sell products
for multiple merchants. For example, an RPOSS 18, 24 could sell movie
rentals in addition to selling gas.
The database 20 could be a distributed database, in which case each
database is only associated with a subset of all RPOSS 18, 24 and LPOSS
22, 26. Thus, in a large network of RPOSS 18, 24 and LPOSS 22, 26, the
network can be subdivided into smaller networks. Since the RPOSS 18, 24
and LPOSS 22, 26 cannot communicate directly, the databases 20 would all
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be connected to ensure that information is distributed to all other databases
in
the system.
The RPOSS 18, 24 can only connect with their specified associated
databases 20 and cannot directly communicate with other RPOSS 18, 24 or
directly with an LPOSS 22, 26.
Local point of sale stations (LPOSS) 22, 26 are exclusively product and/or
service distribution stations. The LPOSS 22, 26 accepts and validates issued
tickets. When the ticket has been determined to be valid, the LPOSS 22, 26
will then distribute or provide access to the purchased product or service
that
the ticket represents.
Each LPOSS 22, 26 has a data storage 48, 50, a ticket validator 52, 54 and a
product activator 56, 58. The data storage 48, 50 stores a list of all valid
codes and associated sale, expiry and redemption dates. A ticket validator
52, 54 accepts a ticket to be redeemed and checks the code contained
thereon to determine if the code is valid. A code is deemed valid when it
exists in the data storage 48, 50 of the LPOSS 22, 26 and does not have a
redeemed date (i.e. the code has not been previously redeemed). The
product activator 56, 58 provides access to the purchased product or service
once the code on the ticket has been determined to be valid.
The RPOSS 18, 24, LPOSS 22, 26 and database 20 can communicate with
each other by a variety of means and methods. The bi-directional link
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between the RPOSS 18, 24 and the database 20 and between the LPOSS
22, 26 and the database 20 allows both ends to update the ticket status of the
other based on recently sold, redeemed and created tickets. These bi-
directional communication links can use a combination of telephone
connection (cellular or conventional), satellite, Internet, radio and direct
connections (such as RS232 protocol, etc.). This flexibility allows the RPOSS
18, 24 and LPOSS 22, 26 to be located anywhere as there are no
communication restrictions.
Figure 2 shows an exemplary transaction from the perspective of the
customer 70 according to an embodiment of the present invention. An
RPOSS offers a plurality of products and services for purchase from which a
customer can choose. For the purpose of illustration, in this example the
customer selects a "car wash" 72 as the desired product or service for
purchase. The customer then pays for the "car wash" at the RPOSS 74 using
a credit card, debit card, IC card, or other similar payment means.
The RPOSS issues ticket 76 that contains a unique, random code that is
associated with the purchased product, in this case "car wash".
The purchased ticket may be redeemed at an LPOSS within a given time
period (i.e. expiry period) for the purchased product or service. The customer
proceeds to the LPOSS where the ticket can be redeemed for a "car wash".
The customer has the ticket validated at the LPOSS 78. The validation
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activates the "car wash" and the customer can retrieve the purchased service
80.
Each ticket sold at the RPOSS 18, 24 contains a unique, randomly generated
code that becomes associated with the purchased product. Using a ticket to
retrieve a product or service at an LPOSS preserves the customer's
anonymity from the LPOSS. In this way the user's identity is not known at the
distribution point, only at the sales point, RPOSS. The use of tickets also
protects against employee theft as the tickets are tracked at the RPOSS,
LPOSS and centrally in a database.
Figure 3 shows the creation of codes for tickets 90 according to an
embodiment of the present invention. When an RPOSS does not have any
unique, random codes associated with certain products that are available for
selling, a request is submitted to a database for a new set of codes that can
be used to issue tickets representative of a product 92. The database creates
a new set of unique, random codes and associates these codes with a certain
product or service 94. Using a ticket to retrieve product or service at an
LPOSS preserves the customer's anonymity. In this way the user's identity is
not known at the distribution point.
The database sends these created codes and the product associations to the
requesting RPOSS and all LPOSS 96. The new set of valid codes sent to the
RPOSS do not have sale or expiry dates, thus indicating that these are valid,
sellable codes. Since a set of codes, not just a single code, is generated and
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sent to the requesting RPOSS, when a sale needs to be made at the RPOSS
it is not necessary to connect to the database. This reduces the necessary
communication time between the RPOSS and the database.
5 All LPOSS also receive a copy of the new set of valid, sellable codes. This
ensures that he existence of a valid code is enough to allow that code to be
redeemed and constant communication with the database to check code
validity is not necessary. Thus, it is not necessary that the code be
registered
as sold having a sales date, only that the code not be expired or previously
10 redeemed. This reduces the communication time necessary between the
database and LPOSS as periodic updates will be sufficient since the two need
not be in constant communication to determine code validity.
Since the LPOSS and RPOSS do not need to be in constant communication
with the database the communication costs are reduced. The periodic
communication also allows the electronic sales system to function when the
communication links are unavailable as the LPOSS and RPOSS are able to
act as stand-alone terminals for a short time.
Storing the valid sellable code on both the RPOSS and LPOSS also reduces
the time dependency of all stations. Since the codes are on both the RPOSS
and LPOSS neither must wait for an update on changed code dates to filter
through the database. This means that products and services can be
purchased and picked up at any time after the code is created.
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When the new codes have been received the RPOSS and LPOSS update
their respective data storages with the new set of valid codes and their
product associations 98.
Figure 4 shows a general transaction 100 according to an embodiment of the
present invention. A request for product purchase is received by the RPOSS
102. Payment for the product is accepted by the RPOSS and the payment is
validated 104. In response to the purchase request and payment validation,
the RPOSS issues a ticket containing a unique code representative of the
purchased product 106. When the ticket is issued the RPOSS updates its
data storage with the changed sold date and expiry date for the code
contained on the ticket 108. At predetermined intervals the RPOSS sends
any information that has been changed between the present time and the
previous update to the database 110. The database receives information for
the codes that have been sold including changed sales dates and expiry
dates for the sold codes. The database sends the updated information it
receives to all LPOSS 112.
The LPOSS update their data storages with the changed sales and expiry
dates for sold codes 114. This allows the LPOSS to know when a code has
been sold, thus allowing a check to be made before ticket redemption to
ensure that the code being redeemed has been sold. However, since the
codes are randomly generated so are not easily reproduced, this acts as a
second validation.
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Figure 5 shows a ticket redemption transaction 120 according to an
embodiment of the present invention. An LPOSS receives ticket containing a
unique, random code for redemption for a product or service 122. The
LPOSS checks its data storage to see if the code contained on the ticket is
valid 124. A valid code is one that was registered with the LPOSS when it
was created by the database, has not expired and has not yet been
redeemed. The LPOSS provides the service or product and updates it data
storage with a redemption date for the code 126.
Similar to the ~RPOSS, the LPOSS updates the database with changes at
predetermined intervals 128. The LPOSS gives the database the redemption
date of the recently redeemed codes to the database. The database sends
the changed information for these codes to all RPOSS and LPOSS 130. The
RPOSS and LPOSS are then able to update their data storages to include the
changed redemption dates 132. This reduces the risks of a valid ticket being
copied and reused for redemption at different LPOSS.
Since the status of the tickets are monitored at the RPOSS, LPOSS and
database, an audit trail is created. This would help prevent employee theft as
a trail for each product and ticket can be tracked.
Although the invention has been described in an embodiment having
unattended LPOSS and RPOSS, these stations may also be attended or can
be a combination of attended and unattended without departing from the
scope of the invention.
